The present invention relates to an open-end rotor spinning machine having a plurality of spinning stations which are located next to one another and have one spinning rotor each which is arranged in a housing, located in a receptacle on the machine side, and has a drive spindle which extends transversely to the machine longitudinal direction and by means of which it is driven by a drive belt extending in the machine longitudinal direction, with the drive spindle being mounted in the gusset portion of a supporting disk bearing. A device of this type is known from the German Offenlegungsschrift No. 2,515,783, which corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 4,105,265.
The spinning rotor runs at high speed, so that its bearing is subjected to relatively high wear and therefore has to be replaced from time to time. This wear is intensified when the spinning rotor is out of balance.
With this in view, the housing accommodating the spinning rotor is dismantled to make the supporting disk bearing accessible and subsequently to make it possible to likewise dismantle the latter. When dismantling and installing the supporting disk bearing there is the risk of the supporting disk continuing to rotate or coming in contact with the drive belt and being positively driven. This involves a risk of injury for the operator, so that the entire machine always has to be stopped for safety reasons for the individual dismantling and installing of a housing.
The object of the present invention is therefore to avoid these disadvantages in a generic open-end spinning machine and to create a simple device in which the rotor bearing can be replaced without risk when the machine is running.
This object is achieved according to the invention in that the supporting disk bearing is supported by the housing which accommodates the spinning rotor and which is mounted on a swivelling axis and can be swivelled at least so far away from the drive belt that the housing can be removed from the receptacle on the machine side. By swivelling the housing, the supporting disk bearing is at the same time lowered beneath the drive belt or raised above the drive belt to such an extent that the supporting disks are released from the drive belt and can be removed out of the receptacle beneath the drive belt or over the drive belt. This can be done by a rectilinear or curved movement of the housing with the supporting disk bearing attached to it or also by continuing the swivelling movement first initiated, in which case the housing can be detached from the receptacle by slackening a locking mechanism or screw connection, etc.
It is possible to mount and to install and dismantle the rotor housing independently of a second housing accommodating the delivery element and the opening element. On the other hand, rolls can form at both the delivery element and the opening element, which rolls lead to damage of the latter. This can also be the case if the spinning device is not operated properly. When there are faults of this nature, it is also necessary to replace the damaged parts. According to a further feature of the invention, to be able to replace the rotating spinning elements of a spinning device without risk when the machine is running, the housing which accommodates the drive spindles with the drive whorls or drive wheels and which accommodates both the opening and the spinning elements can be swivelled as a whole about the swivelling axis and out of its receptacle on the machine side. According to the invention, this can also be implemented in such a way that the second housing is connected to the rotor housing and can be swivelled together with the latter.
To be able to swivel the housing accommodating the spinning rotor and parts fixed to the housing out of the receptacle on the machine side, for example to make the supporting disk bearing accessible for maintenance purposes, etc., without removing the housing from the machine, provision can be made in a further embodiment of the invention for the machine parts which are in a fixed position relative to the swivellable housing and parts attached to the latter and which are located in the swivelling area of the swivellable parts to have a minimum distance from the swivelling axis, which minimum distance is greater than the maximum distance of the parts to be swivelled past these machine parts. This ensures that the housing, with all the parts supported by it, can be swivelled out of the machine frame without obstruction by drive means, brakes, etc., so that the drive spindle and also the supporting disk bearing can be inspected visually. The drive spindle is separated from its drive belt by the swivelling movement of the housing and removed to such an extent that the elements rotatably mounted in the housing cannot be driven again momentarily even unintentionally during the subsequent dismantling. The elements attached to the housing can therefore be inspected without risk to the operator even when the machine is running. In addition, both the complete housing accommodating the spinning rotor and parts of the housing can be dismantled or installed or even replaced when the machine is running, so that the other spinning stations can continue to operate undisturbed.
In a further advantageous embodiment of the inventive object, provision can be made in the case of delivery and opening elements arranged approximately at the same distance from the swivelling axis for the maximum distance of a drive spindle of the opening element from the swivelling axis to be at least just as great as the minimum distance of the drive means of the delivery element from the swivelling axis, and for the maximum distance of this drive spindle from an imaginary vertical plane located between the swivelling axis and the drive means to be smaller than the minimum distance of these drive means from this plane. In this case, too, the housing can be swivelled for the purpose of inspection, maintenance or replacement without risk to the operator.
According to an embodiment which is simple in construction, the drive means of at least one of the rotating elements are arranged in a channel-like jacket which extends over a plurality of spinning stations located next to one another and which supports the swivelling axes of the housing of these spinning stations and one longitudinal side of which is covered by this housing. This channel makes possible a compact and low-noise design of the device according to the invention.
In such an embodiment of the inventive object, the channel-like jacket, at its side remote from the swivelling axis, preferably terminates at a minimum distance from the swivelling axis, which minimum distance is greater than the maximum distance of the drive spindle and/or the supporting disk bearing from the swivelling axis. Within the meaning of the present invention, the term "bearing" also includes, if necessary, lubricating devices for such a bearing. At the same time, the side of the channel-like jacket, which faces toward the drive means for the opening and delivery elements, preferably terminates between these drive means and is at the same time made as a mounting element for the drive means of the opening and/or delivery elements.
The inventive object can also be used in conjunction with a dirt separating device. So that it is not necessary to release and later set up again any connecting lines between the housing and a dirt removal device when the housing is being swivelled, provision is made according to a particularly advantageous embodiment for the housing, which is mounted on the swivelling axis with its upper end which accommodates the spinning element, to have a dirt separating opening on its lower side. Such dirt separating opening leads away from the opening element and has guiding walls extending parallel to the swivelling. The maximum distance of such guiding walls and the maximum distance of the drive spindle of the delivery and opening elements from the swivelling axis are at least just as great. A dirt removal belt is guided beneath the housing in an upwardly open guide channel, the side walls of which extend towards the guiding walls and the minimum distance of which from the swivelling axis is greater than the maximum distance of the guiding walls from the swivelling axis. In this way, the side walls of the guide channel do not obstruct swivelling movements of the housing but nevertheless extend up to the immediate proximity of the guiding walls of the dirt separating opening. As a result of this, the separated dirt safely reaches the dirt removal belt without the risk of fly building up in the spinning machine.
In an expedient embodiment of the invention, the guide channel is fixed to the channel-like jackets which support the housings of several spinning stations located next to one another.
Inspecting the drive spindles and their mountings is made all the easier the further they are removed from one another. Nevertheless, in order to obtain a compact arrangement of the driven elements and also a fiber feed channel which is as short as possible and gently guides the fibers, the drive spindles of the delivery element and the opening element (designed as an opening cylinder) have such an inclination relative to the drive spindle of the spinning rotor and the opening cylinder is arranged relative to the spinning rotor in such a way that the fiber feed channel leading from the opening cylinder to the spinning rotor is arranged and made symmetrical to the center radial plane passing through the opening cylinder.
It is common practice to provide a housing which accommodates a spinning rotor with a swivellable cover and to provide a brake linkage which is mounted in a fixed position and can be brought into its braking position by swivelling the cover. To enable one or more of the rotating elements to be stopped on the one hand by the swivelling of the cover closing the housing, but so that this is also possible when the cover is located in the closed position, the brake linkage preferably has a control arm which can be actuated independently of the position of the cover. In this way, when the cover is closed, a spinning station can be controlled for cleaning the spinning rotor and/or for piecing manually or automatically, for example from a piecing trolley.
To eliminate unintentional swivelling of the housing, a locking device is provided which secures the housing in its operating position and is accessible only after the cover is swung aside.
In a further embodiment of the inventive object, so that both hands can be free for inspection and maintenance work, a locking device is advantageously provided which secures the housing in its maintenance position.
Moreover, a valve which can be controled as a function of the swivelled position of the housing can expediently be provided in the vacuum line to the housing. This automatically ensures that no vacuum loss can occur at this spinning station when the housing is swivelled or removed.
The present invention enables the driven elements of each spinning station to be inspected in a simple and reliable manner without the entire spinning machine having to be stopped for the protection of the operator. The operator is also protected during installation and dismantling of a housing. This simplicity in design and this safety for the operator is accompanied by a higher production during this inspection and maintenance phase, because the adjacent spinning stations can continue to operate normally without impairing the spinning station to be inspected or maintained.